Class blog for Anth 249: Evolution and human disease. We will be responding to class readings and engaging with the wider network of blogs and online content on evolutionary medicine. We might also make up some fun projects along the way.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Stress on Your Mind? Don't Worry About it!

Last
week in class we discussed the levels of control we had on our stress. After
rating the different aspects of our lifestyle, I noticed that eating, time
management, and exercising were my lowest rated at about 7. Overall, I do not
feel I am a stressed out person—I have been brought up to not allow myself to
become so, with a philosophy of “everything always works out in the end”.
Nonetheless, there have been many instances where I may find myself being
lethargic or just apathetic towards things. This semester, I have been eating
quite healthy; more fruits and vegetables and less late-night snacking. I have
seen a dramatic improvement in my overall health. For one thing, I am never
tired during the day! I wake up at about 7:30/8:00 am daily and am ready to go
even having slept at around midnight or one in the morning. It is truly a great
feeling, because I am able to get more done. NOTE: I am ABLE to, which doesn’t
mean that I actually DO get more done. So, this past week, I forced myself to
take the initiative and actually work more and follow a schedule, which so far
has not been as difficult as I imagined. Like right now as I write this blog
post, I can easily be sleeping or playing Ruzzle, but I know that tomorrow I
will appreciate myself for having written this. More interestingly enough is
that I have noticed by becoming better at managing my time, exercising and
eating healthy are easier to do too. By not wasting time during the day, I find
the time to exercise, and when I exercise I feel more comfortable to eat
healthy. These good feelings make my overall disposition more energetic and
friendly, and well, happier. I would have never imagined that even such a small
change of adjusting thirty minutes in my day can change my life. I re-rated
myself today, and ended up seeing a higher satisfaction level with all the
other stressors in my life that didn’t change, even the ones I could not
control. This experiment has amazed me, but I don’t think I will leave this
experience as just something I tried for ANTH 249; it’s a good lifestyle change
to adhere to. Thus, I shall continue to maintain low levels of stress and high
levels of satisfaction amongst all stressors in my life for as long as I can,
because I most definitely have witnessed and have enjoyed my results. If
anything, I will try changing my attitude or behavior to other stressors I face
such as sleeping and studying. Only time will tell!